


what a dangerous night to fall in love

by hoodedmiho (missMHO)



Series: robovember 2k18 [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Sentinels & Guides, Alternate Universe - Sentinels and Guides Are Known, First Kiss, Human Markus, M/M, Rest of Jericho are androids, Stand Alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 13:10:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16854559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missMHO/pseuds/hoodedmiho
Summary: The world has been struggling with a Guide deficit for years now. CyberLife comes with a solution of android Guides but when the synthetic empaths starts to run away, a Sentinel is sent after them. Markus finds more than he could ever expect.





	what a dangerous night to fall in love

**Author's Note:**

> **This is part 16 of my robovember for prompt "weapon", but it's a stand alone story** (all previous prompts can be found in the same series as this fic). 
> 
> Please enjoy! I appreciate all feedback, kudos and comments are a writer's fuel <3

Markus has been pursuing rogue androids for days but he’s finally on a good track. Amanda is breathing down his neck and expecting reports every couple of hours which is unusual. Markus has been a Sentinel on active duty for years and a really effective one despite being unbonded, so he’s usually given more trust.

This case has been different from the beginning, though. This one is personal for SAGA. The rogue androids are “government property”, as Amanda said. Important assets that were supposed to magically fix the Guide deficit the world has been struggling with for the last decade or so. And their solution just ran away.

It was almost amusing to hear when Amanda inadvertently called the spade a spade during the mission assignment. The _Sentinel And Guides Association_ was created with a noble purpose in mind, to help newly awakened preternaturals live with their new abilities and aid them in finding a counterpart Sentinel or Guide to bond with and become balanced. That hasn’t been true for years now, the preternaturals are drafted for military purposes immediately after their abilities are discovered. SAGA is independent from the government only in theory. Looks like they’re not even pretending anymore.

Markus has been too numb these last couple of years to care, though. He just pops his pills and moves on to the next mission.

Since there has been so little new Guides in the last years, an abundance of Sentinels ended up zoning out and never coming back to their senses. SAGA’s solution was first to start feeding Sentinels pills that dulled their emotions and partially their senses – which still remained much sharper than that of a regular human. Of course, it wasn’t enough in the long run. Unbonded drugged Sentinels are a ticking bomb and never remain on active duty for as long as they would with a Guide to balance them. Last year SAGA struck a deal with CyberLife and they started producing android Guides. Markus is not a preternatural biologist or an engineer so he never even tried to understand how a synthetic empath was supposed to offer the same comfort to the senses as a natural Guide, but before he got a chance to check it for himself, the androids started running away. SAGA and CyberLife created synthetic _empaths_ and then were shocked when the androids thought they developed feelings. What a joke.

There was supposed to be some kind of asylum for escaped androids in Detroit, one place where they gathered to find shelter, and Markus was right on their track. All leads pointed to an abandoned ship by the name of _Jericho_ and Markus has finally located it.

The ship is, frankly, in a ruin. Markus has to reroute once a metal bridge collapses under his feet – if it wasn’t for his enhanced reflexes, he’d already be crushed under the pile of scrap.

He was so pressured by Amanda to actually find the runaways, that only once he’s literally in their lair that Markus realizes how big of a mistake he just did.

They’re all Guides, synthetic or not, they’ll feel an unbonded Sentinel coming from a mile away. He didn’t take it into consideration as he never had to sneak up on a large group of Guides – there weren’t any in the world in his lifetime as a Sentinel before CyberLife produced them…

He’s about to retreat in order to buy time and think this through when he hears footsteps. A group of Guides is coming. He readies himself to fight when suddenly, out of nowhere, he feels a pressure crushing his skull from the inside. They must be using their empathy in the most twisted of ways – not to aid a Sentinel in dealing with their senses but to overwhelm them. Markus raises his hands to his head instinctively, as if the touch could help with the buzzing in his ears. Despite the overwhelmed hearing, he still registers the androids getting closer via other senses but before he manages to react in any way, he feels a painful impact at the back of his head and the world goes black.

When he regains consciousness, it all gets worse.

First comes the cacophony of sounds: the croaking of the old metal, someone breathing next to him, people talking two cabins over, his own beating heart, a mouse running somewhere below… It all comes to him at once at different volumes, as if fighting for Markus’ attention. When he tries to open his eyes to shift his focus onto another sense, he must quickly close them again as the single lightbulb above him is _blinding_. Then comes the touch, he registers he’s sitting on a metal chair and there are ties around his ankles and wrists. The rope must have rubbed against his skin and right now it feels like it’s burning. The smell of rust and his own sweat are filling his nose and prickling the tissue inside.

There’s a new sound, a loud panicked whine. It takes a second for Markus to realize he himself  made that sound.

What is happening? It wasn’t that bad since…

His pills!

“How long was I out?” Markus mutters even though the sound makes him wince. He knows there’s someone else with him in the room. Even without his sight, he hears them breathing and smells the clean, slightly synthetic scent clinging to their skin.

“You’re really not in the position to be asking questions,” the person replies. A man with a soft voice. Somehow, it’s the only sound that doesn’t _hurt_.

“I-I need to know,” Markus insists and he must sound really desperate because the man relents.

“Almost six hours.”

Markus curses under his breath. He was supposed to take a new dose three hours ago. He’s been on the pills for so long that the withdrawal is already hitting him hard. If he doesn’t do anything about his senses _soon_ , he’ll zone out.

“You’re off your pills, aren’t you?” the soothing voice asks again and Markus nods. He doesn’t want to speak anymore, it’s too loud. He licks his lips and tastes his own sweat – it’s so unexpectedly overwhelming that he feels as if he blacked out for a few seconds.

He hears the man in the room sigh loudly, as if resigned.

Then there are cool hands on his cheeks and a feeling of such profound tranquility washes over him that he slides down the chair a bit. It’s as if a delicate presence was invading his being and soothing out his senses one by one. A soft hush quietens down all the other sounds swarming in Markus’ head. The cool touch seems to spread from Markus’ face all over his body, removing the exaggerated pains. The clean scent clinging to the stranger cancels all the smells and tastes that were corroding through his senses.

Markus has never felt this content and balanced.

He tries to open his eyes again and the previously blinding light is now a yellowish glow. Markus can finally take in the Guide who just saved him from zoning out. The man has fair hair and a regular face, his eyes are bright blue and kind, pale lips clenched in concentration… Markus has never seen anyone more beautiful.

“You helped me,” he breathes out, shocked. The blond’s hands are still resting on his cheeks. His empathy continues to embrace Markus, balancing his overstretched senses.

“We didn’t capture SAGA’s hunter just to have him zone out on us,” the Guide responds. “If we wanted you dead, we’d finish you ourselves. We have questions,” and with that he finally withdraws his touch.

Only then, with Markus’ senses stabilized in a way he hasn’t experienced in years and without the pills numbing him constantly, he truly feels it. The hole in his chest that means he’s an unbonded preternatural, the one that begs for a compatible Guide, for a lifetime companion that would balance him out. It’s raw and aching in a way that Markus almost forgot is possible. It’s making him want to rub at his chest, as if he could physically help soothe it in any way, and he involuntarily jerks against the ties around his wrists and ankles. The blond Guide takes a step back from him.

With that step, Markus feels another tug that seems to be tearing that hole even wider. The realisation what that means seems like another hit to the head.

The Guide in front of him, who just saved his life and whom Markus came to hunt down for SAGA, is compatible with him. They could bond. They _should_ bond – as his senses are screaming at him. The blond android is nervously rubbing his hands together and there’s a need inside Markus to protect him at all costs.

“I won’t hurt you, I’m sorry, don’t go,” Markus says and he knows he sounds desperate but his instincts are taking over and he’s not sure how to proceed. He’s never met a compatible Guide before. And this android? He doesn’t only feel compatible. He’s _perfect_.

The Guide keeps staring at him, perplexed, but takes a step closer.

“Who are you?” he asks and his voice is music to Markus’ ears.

“My name is Markus. I was sent to find all of you by SAGA. But you already know that part…”

The Guide nods, frowning as if he’s pondering on something.

“We've heard a rumour that the pills are also making Sentinels more obedient,” the android reveals. “Do you still want to hunt us down or…?”

Markus takes a second to think about this. His mind wasn't this clear in what feels like ages, though the presence of the Guide is distracting him a bit. But despite his sense of duty to SAGA – he always wanted to help his brethren preternaturals – his last order doesn't hold much power now that he's off the numbing pills. Hunting down Guides for a corporation that enslaved them seems counterproductive to what Markus wants, it's not helping other preternaturals, rather the opposite. And these androids are one of them, synthetic or not, no matter what anyone says. He can _feel_ it and nothing is more important than his instincts. They’re not anyone’s property.

“No,” he answers simply, truthfully.

The Guide nods. He’s been gazing into Markus’ eyes since asking his question and the Sentinel has maintained the contact.

Does he find Markus compatible, too? Is he still afraid of him?

“May I know your name?” Markus dares to ask.

The android’s gaze jumps to the side for a moment, hesitating, but he comes back a second later, the blue meeting Markus’ mismatched eyes.

“I’m Simon.”

Markus feels a little smile curving his lips. He wants to know _everything_ about the Guide but this much is enough for now.

“You can feel it, too, can’t you?” Markus continues his queries, allowing the hope to spill into his words.

Simon’s gaze escapes to the side again and stays there. The Sentinel within Markus whines at the loss of the eye contact.

“You can _feel_ that I’m no longer a threat to you. I have no intent to harm any of you, Simon.”

“Yes, I know…” Simon replies. Then he sighs and takes a step closer to the Sentinel, their knees are almost touching now. “And I can feel _it_ , too.”

Simon’s hand rises to touch Markus’ cheek once again and the Sentinel leans into the touch.

“I want to be yours,” Markus confesses once he can look into the blue eyes again. “Be my Guide.”

Simon takes a sharp intake of breath. A curious and extremely human reaction for an android. Markus takes in the little mannerisms with all of his senses, tries to record Simon to memory as much as possible. His fingers tingle with need to touch and learn the texture of every centimetre of the Guide’s skin.

Markus observes as Simon bites into his lip in contemplation and then slowly withdraws his hand from the Sentinel’s cheek to start undoing the ties around his wrists and then around his ankles. Markus doesn’t move even when he’s finally free to. He doesn’t want to spook the Guide. He came here as an adversary, he knows he can’t expect complete immediate trust, despite their preternatural connection.

“We shouldn’t be enemies, Sentinels and Guides should never be enemies,” Markus slowly moves one of his hands to Simon’s, to tenderly enfold the android’s fingers with his. The Guide doesn’t escape the touch. “I don’t want us to be enemies.”

“I want you, too,” Simon finally answers Markus’ confession. His voice is so wary and quiet that Markus is sure he wouldn’t be able to hear if it he wasn’t a Sentinel.

Markus can’t help but smile at that. He raises their joint hands to his lips and leaves a kiss on the pale knuckles of Simon’s hand.

He doesn’t want there to be any doubts between them. There are many kinds of the relationship between a compatible Sentinel and Guide but usually it boils down to its nature being either more sibling-like or a lover-like. Markus wants Simon to know that he _wants_ the Guide in every possible meaning of the word.

Simon lowers himself to straddle Markus’ lap and tugs on their joint hands to mirror Markus’ gesture by leaving a kiss on the Sentinel’s knuckles. Their eyes haven’t left each other since Simon’s confession and Markus feels as if he’s drowning in the blue. Then, as Simon’s lips touch the skin of his hand, it’s as if he took a real intake of breath for the first time in his life.

They’ve bonded.

Markus lets out a breathy moan and leans in close, finally putting his other hand around the Guide, keeping him close. He buries his face in Simon’s neck and greedily takes in the clean scent.

“Markus,” Simon puts his free hand on the back of the Sentinel’s neck and strokes the skin there. Markus feels like sobbing from the impossible relief that washes over his body – the gaping hole in his chest has been filled in the most blissful of ways and Simon is _his, his, his…_

The Sentinel dares to leave a kiss on Simon’s neck and then lick along its pale length. He hums contentedly when their scents mix and the Guide lets out a whimper.

Markus lifts his head to once again look Simon in the eyes. The blue has been significantly taken over by dilated pupils and the Sentinel takes in the sight with satisfaction.

Slowly, cautiously, Markus starts leaning closer to Simon’s lips but the Guide is the one to close the distance. The kiss seems to cancel out all of Markus’ senses in order to focus on Simon in that moment. It’s almost like zoning out but also completely opposite because he’s not losing control, he’s given it up to his Guide and he loves it.

The kiss quickly turns more heated, Simon accepts Markus’ exploring tongue into his mouth with an eager moan. The hand at the back of the Sentinel’s neck is no longer stroking him, but clinging to him eagerly, the nails scratching the skin.

When it all becomes too much for the freshly bonded Sentinel, Simon feels it immediately and withdraws his lips. He touches their foreheads together and soothes Markus’ senses once again, brushing his thumb repeatedly over the Sentinel’s skin where their hands are still entwined.

Markus has lost hope he’ll ever bond in his life as a Sentinel. This is only the beginning and it’s already more than anything he ever dared to imagine.

They could both blame it on the overwhelming feeling of becoming bonded that neither of them see it coming when someone barges into the cabin.

“Simon, what the hell is happen–” the female voice derails into a gasp when she takes in the sight before her. Simon still on their enemy’s lap, snuggled close to the Sentinel, and Markus is glaring at anyone getting relatively close to his Guide. He knows it’s simply stupid to act territorial, especially against another Guide that obviously knows Simon, but he can’t help his instincts.

The red-haired Guide stares at them in shock for a long moment, then lets out an impressive streak of curses and leaves the room again.

“I hoped to inform the rest about this development in a better way than having the most short-tempered Guide amongst us walk in on us but well…”

Markus hums, taking the information in. He nuzzles Simon’s neck again, unable to stop his Sentinel possessiveness.

 _Simon bonded with him, Josh!_ Markus can hear the red-haired android yell outside the cabin. _Our enemy! He came here to take us back to CyberLife to be enslaved._

 _North, please, calm down,_ a male voice responds to her. _You said they bonded? That’s incredible! We weren’t sure if it’s even possible._

North huffs and Markus decides to stop listening in, shifting his hearing to focus on the hum of Simon’s components, learning their rhythm by heart. Eavesdropping is not going to help him win over the rest of the Guides.

Simon attempts to get up from the Sentinel’s lap then and Markus tightens his grip around the Guide with a discontent whine deep in his throat.

“Oh come on,” Simon chuckles and it’s the most beautiful sound Markus has ever heard. “We need to be more presentable once North comes back with a whole bunch of pissed Guides.”

Markus can’t help but agree. He allows Simon to get up but doesn’t let go of his hand. The android seems content with that at least. Even though his instincts are still too sensitive after the bonding and are screaming at him to stand in front of Simon and shield him from anyone and anything, he makes himself stand behind the Guide so he doesn’t appear to be too threatening.

This time there’s a knock and two Guides enter only after hearing Simon’s clearance. The red-haired android named North is back. Markus assumes the other is Josh he overheard earlier.

“Anything you want to say to us, Simon?” she asks, putting her hands on her hips.

“I know how it looks but Markus isn’t our enemy,” Simon begins explaining. “The pills are messing with Sentinel’s minds. He doesn’t want to hurt us.”

North still doesn’t look convinced.

“You’re a Guide, you can tell when I’m lying,” Markus steps in. “SAGA is the enemy of all of us. They’re no longer the organisation they were established to be. Any Sentinel that gets a chance to meet any of you will see that you’re more than _government property_.”

The red-haired Guide smirks.

“Are you suggesting we recruit Sentinels and tear down SAGA?”

It’s a bit of a jump but Markus must admit that this is probably the only direction for them now.

“If we want freedom for our people, then this seems to be the only way.”

“Okay, Simon, I’m starting to like him,” North winks at Simon and Markus feels a squeeze from his Guide’s hand.

“How do you suggest we do this?” Josh finally speaks, crossing his arms above his chest.

“SAGA made me into a weapon,” Markus admits bitterly. “It’s time I decided what the target is.”


End file.
